PATIO
COMMUNITY
BE A ROLE-MODEL
The Grand Ronde tribal youth are our greatest re
source. It is important that they be educated about
alcohol and drug abuse at an early age. Sobriety among
all our tribal members would be a great goal. One of
the incentives for sobriety would be to create role
models for the tribal youth.
I'm beginning a role model program, with newsletter
articles about tribal members who are living a sober,
healthy lifestyle.
I invite and encourage you to submit the names of tribal
members who are leading a sober healthy lifestyle. As
you know, alcohol and drug abuse is not healthy. Our k
tribal youth need positive sober role models. Please call
me if you know someone we can feature.
YOUNG LEADERS
About one hundred high school students from North
west Indian tribes participated in a 2 12 week Summer
Youth Leadership Conference from July 17 -22, 1988, in
Olympia, Washington.
The intense two week program included cultural and
traditional teachings by elders, Indian treaty curriculum,
college testing and recruitment information, and
sessions on health promotion and disease prevention,
and leadership building skills.
As part of the conference, the students wrote resolutions
that included strategies for dealing with youth suicide,
alcoholdrug issues, abuse and neglect, high school
dropouts, health care, treaties and establishing a "youth
voice" in Indian affairs.
The resolutions were presented at the quarterly meeting
of the Northwest Indian Health Board also held in
Olympia. The Board has 24 members representing 38
northwest Indian tribes.
DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who chaired the
hearing, called the Termination Act decision a "now
discredited assimilation policy" intended to force
Indians into the "dominant white culture." He said the
attempt resulted in "economic and cultural disaster."
" Restoration of the tribe's status would provide job
training, education and medical care through the Indian
Health Service. It would direct the Interior Department
to draft a plan to provide economic self-sufficiency for
the tribe and recognize the tribal government as the
group's representative in dealing the federal govern
ment. Michele Burnette of the Coquille Tribal Council said a
socioeconomic study of the tribe showed the Coquille to
be better educated than average Oregonians, "and yet
many of our people are unemployed or underem
ployed." Twenty-five percent of Coquille families live in poverty,
compared to six percent of the population statewide, she
said.
Following is an illustration of what one of our tribal
members is doing.
Stan Kneeland, recently competed in the 1988 annual Pi-Ume-Sha
run held during the Warm Springs Treaty Days Celebra
tion. Stan led the 6.5 mile run with a time of 39 minutes
and 23 seconds.
Stan is the son of Cordellia (Tom) Kneeland of Dallas,
and his grandmother is Pauline (Warren) Johnson of
Warm Springs.
Stan is looking forward to participating in the Grand
Ronde Fun Run on August 20th, which will be held in
conjunction with the Tribe's 4th annual Pow Wow.
Stan participates is runs throughout the state, and in
Hawaii and is currently training to run in the Boston
Marathon.
This is a fine example of how one of our tribal members
is living a sober healthy lifestyle!
YOUTH CAMP-OUT
The Alcohol Prevention Education Program will be
sponsoring a Camp-out on August 26 & 27, 1988 for
youth ages 8 -13 years old. The Camp-out will be held
at Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon.
If you have children who are interested in participating,
please call Margaret Provost at 879-5211. The number
of attendees will be limited to 12.
Respectfully submitted,
Margaret Provost
Alcohol PreventionEducation Counselor.
The youth urged the establishment of prevention
programs on reservations, a 24 hour crisis hotline staffed
by professionals; and urged tribes to empower their
courts to better handle self-destructive behavior as ways
to deal with youth suicide.
To work with high school dropouts, the students asked
their tribal governments to create family group sessions
that involved elders as well as family members.
On treaties, the youth requested that students be
recruited to assist in the "plight for self-determination",
and in seeking a greater voice for youth, they asked to
be allowed more involvement in education programs
and in the development of juvenile codes.
The resolutions were unanimously passed by the
Northwest Indian Health Board which sponsored the
Youth Leadership Conference.
We will be going to Siletz for a luncheon with the elders
on September 8, 1988. We will be leaving the office at
about 9:30 a.m. We got a beautiful card of "thanks"
from their office for the wonderful potluck you folks put
on for them!
BIA OPPOSED TO
COQUILLE EFFORTS
The Bureau of Indian Affairs opposed Rep. Peter
DeFazio's bill to restore federal tribal recognition to the
Coquille Indians of the Southern Oregon coast at a
hearing Thursday before a House Interior subcommit
tee. The bill would restore to the tribe the official status that
Congress removed in 1954 under the Western Oregon
Termination Act.
Hazel Elbert, a deputy to the assistant secretary of
Interior for Indian affairs, said the government now
believed no tribal organization still existed when
recognition was withdrawn in 1954, and that it was not
satisfied that a tribal organization had operated continu
ously since then, as its regulations would require for
renewing recognition.
DeFazio's bill would use the 1960 roll, compiled by the
BIA itself, as the basis of determining membership in
the tribe. The tribe says it has 527 members, mostly in
Coos County. , s
Elbert said that 1960 list of Coquille descendants wasn't
a list of members of the tribe.
The BIA's 1960's roll "is a list of those individuals of
Loquille ancestry who successfully applied for the
Coquille portion" of an earlier land claim.
"This roll is by no means a tribal membership roll and
should not be used to imply that a tribal membership
roll or a tribe exists," she said.
She suggested the tribe be allowed to apply directly to
the agency for federal acknowledgement. She said that
process would take two to three years, but tribal repre
sentatives said other groups had waited 11 to 12 years
and noted it had taken the Coquilles 34 years already to
bring the question of restoration to Congress.
-" '
Elbert said after the hearing the BIA had not completed
research on the history of the Coquille tribe or of its
government that might determine whether the group
met the agency's standards for being a tribe.
"We can have a strong opinion without doing a lot of
research," she said. 'Until we get answers to all those
questions, there are a lot of unknowns.
"And until we know, we have to oppose it."
5588 - The Oregonian
ELDERS LUNCHEON